⭐ 1 STAR — WORST RENTAL CAR EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD
I have rented vehicles many times throughout my life, and I can confidently say this was by far the WORST rental car experience I have ever had.
The vehicle should never have been rented out in the condition it was in. There was a chip in the windshield, a LARGE HOLE in the floorboard, and windshield wipers that were so bad they were practically useless. These aren’t minor cosmetic issues—they raise legitimate concerns about how thoroughly these vehicles are inspected and maintained before being handed to customers.
Then, only ONE DAY into my TWO-WEEK rental, a warning appeared on the dashboard stating, “Need Service – See Dealer.”
Naturally, I was concerned and took the vehicle to one of their locations to have it exchanged. Instead of taking the situation seriously, the employee I dealt with was rude, dismissive, and completely unconcerned. He told me the warning “happens after 100 miles,” reset it, and informed me that the vehicle supposedly still had approximately 5,000 miles before it needed an oil change.
Resetting a dashboard warning did absolutely nothing to address my concern about WHY a vehicle I had rented only one day earlier was already telling me it needed service.
I specifically requested a replacement SUV, since I had PAID EXTRA to rent an SUV. The next day, I did receive a call offering me a Toyota Corolla as a replacement. A Corolla is obviously not comparable to the SUV I paid for, so I declined and was told they would continue looking for an appropriate replacement.
After that, I heard NOTHING.
More than a week passed, and no one ever called me back with another option, update, or alternative replacement vehicle.
I was later told that if I wanted to exchange the vehicle, I would have to drive MORE THAN TWO HOURS to the airport to do so. Apparently, after paying extra for an SUV and being given a vehicle in unacceptable condition, it was somehow MY responsibility to spend more than four hours driving round trip just to obtain the type of vehicle I had already paid for.
That is unacceptable.
The condition of the vehicle was horrible. The customer service was horrible. The lack of communication and follow-through was horrible.
At no point did I feel that my concerns were taken seriously or that anyone cared about making the situation right.
When someone rents a vehicle, they should be able to reasonably expect that it has been inspected, properly maintained, and is safe to drive. They should also expect that if there IS a problem, the rental company will make a reasonable effort to correct it—not dismiss the customer, reset a warning light, offer a much smaller vehicle than what was paid for, fail to follow up with another option, and then tell the customer to drive more than two hours for a replacement.
For the amount of money customers pay to rent vehicles, this level of service is completely unacceptable.
I would give ZERO stars if that were an option. This was easily the worst rental car experience I have ever had, and after this experience, I would have an extremely difficult time trusting this company with another rental.